Windsor paratrooper helps honour soldiers who fought in Battle of Arnhem

A Windsor paratrooper has jumped into Arnhem in the Netherlands to honour the sacrifice and bravery of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Arnhem 80 years ago.

Captain Sam Henning, 25, who serves with 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (3 PARA) was one of the hundreds of paratroopers who jumped onto Ginkel Heath to mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden - a World War Two allied operation to liberate the Netherlands.

A crowd of 60,000 spectators and a small group of World War Two veterans watched as the paratroopers landed in the same drop zone used by the 4th Parachute Brigade in September 1944.

Soldiers from the 11 Airmobile Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army and seven other NATO nations were also jumping.

Captain Henning, said: “I’m very lucky to be able to jump at Arnhem. A lot of people can go their whole career and not get the opportunity.

“It’s special to have so many paratroopers from the different nations all coming together to commemorate what happened 80 years ago.

"It’s a special moment to be involved in.”

Operation Market Garden saw thousands of paratroopers drop into Ginkel Heath.

Their landing zone was about nine miles from the bridge at Arnhem, which lost them the element of surprise and provided German troops with time to react and build blockades.

Although there was constant attack from German armour and infantry, the 2nd Parachute Battalion (2 PARA) and other supporting elements from their Brigade successfully took Arnhem Road Bridge.

The initial order had been to hold the bridge for 48 hours until they were relieved by ground forces.

In the meantime, depleted by attempts to fight through to reinforce the bridge, the rest of the division were compressed into a small perimeter across the river at Oosterbeek.

A defensive battle was fought by 2 PARA at the bridge, involving nine days of brutal and prolonged street fighting until ordered to withdraw on September 25.

More than 1,600 British soldiers were killed, almost 6,500 were captured and five Victoria Crosses were awarded.

The anniversary is marked by Arnhem each year with a series of memorial activities which honour all the Allied Forces that took part in the operation, particularly those who remain at rest in the land they helped to liberate.

The commemoration is a way of not only showing respect for those who fought and in many cases gave their lives, but a way of educating younger people about the gratitude owed to veterans.

While Operation Market Garden did not capture the bridge at Arnhem, it did liberate major cities such as Eindhoven and Nijmegen.